Here Kitty, Kitty: The Genetics of Tame Animals
18:13 minutes
Your cat that cuddles up to you might just as soon hunt you. Genetically speaking, domestic cats have a lot in common with their wild counterparts, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week. Where the two differ, says geneticist Wes Warren, an author on the study, is in tameness. Alex Cagan, at Germany’s Max Planck Institute, has also found genetic variation between tame and aggressive rats. Warren and Cagan discuss the possible genetic differences that make certain cats and rats more docile.
Segment Guests
Wes Warren
Wes Warren is an associate professor of genetics at the Washington University School of Medicine at the Genome Institute in St. Louis, Missouri.
Alex Cagan
Alex Cagan is a Ph.D. candidate at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany.
Related Links
- Comparative analysis of the domestic cat genome reveals genetic signatures underlying feline biology and domestication
- Semi-domesticated? House cats not far removed from wild, genome shows
- Cat genome may explain how we got such ferocious pets
- The genetics of why your cat is (sometimes) nice to you
- Scientists investigate the cat genome to see how wildcats turned into lazy furballs
- Genetic Influences on Brain Gene Expression in Rats Selected for Tameness and Aggression
Meet the Producer
About Becky Fogel
@beckyfogelBecky Fogel is a newscast host and producer at Texas Standard, a daily news show broadcast by KUT in Austin, Texas. She was formerly Science Friday’s production assistant.